Once upon a time, ten digits on a half-torn piece of paper or a drink in those tall, columnar glasses that the waiter told you were toasted were the first steps to expressing one’s romantic interest.
In this alphabet of his flirting there were also other gestures – some very polite and others not so much – that signaled the beginning of an acquaintance.
A nod to close the distance, a flattering comment, a caring touch, a look and a remark that struck like lightning and ignited a new love adventure.
It seems that in order to communicate at that time (flirting is a form of communication), going out the front door of your house was enough. The facts, of course, have changed… a little since then.
Flirting now has as prerequisites our connection to the digital world, the use of a screen, the learning of language of emojis and our quick emotional recovery from a failed love affair.
The torn piece of paper with our phone has been replaced by our Instagram username and the drink by the online “treat” of a tiny blue hand with a thumbs up: the coveted like.
We fortify behind the smartphones us, we choose carefully curated selfies that hide our imperfections or that create a certain aesthetic, depending on which side of ourselves we want to show, and we begin our journey, not outside the home, but inside the world of dating apps.
Immediacy
Tinder, Badoo, Bumble, Grindr and another 8,000 websites and applications online datingwith over 381 million users worldwide, according to the Pew Research Center.
In these flirting has a different constitution. It is more direct, fast and concise, with its main goal to choose the next possible match, date or one night stand in seconds.
Strategic swipes (screen scrolling) and catchy rants are enough to start a conversation, which can lead to a life meeting with a specific goal, available time and possible development.
Tinder, the application launched in September 2012 and now owned by the Match Group, owner of many other online dating platforms, is emerging as the king of the erotic digital supermarket.
Although it initially started timidly from the campuses of USAwhere users had to download the app to get into their frat parties, Tinder has become synonymous with the modern way of communicating, reaching 6.1 million monthly downloads per month, according to data from analytics firm Statista.
The reason is one: its immediacy.
The user creates their profile, enters basic information about them, which would otherwise take at least two dates to tell, selects their photos, their love preferences and if they are willing to enter into a relationship or if they are just looking for something casual.
When his profile is made public, then an endless buffet of potential partners, cut and sewn to his preferences, opens before him. Now comes the easiest, for some, stage of the process: the right or left scrolling of the screen (swipes). If you like the person you see on the screen and want to connect with them, then you simply drag your finger to the right, otherwise to the left and continue to the next profile.
This process can be done as many times as one wants, without limitations. At one point or another, it all boils down to how attractive the person on our screen is, without even having to read the details and without any moral qualms about the rejection we’re about to offer.
This speed and ease with which it allows us to Tinder to act is what make it the leading dating app, with over 75 million monthly users worldwide, according to Business of Apps.
However, beyond and behind the fun note that the application wants to give to its operation, with the happy graphics that frame the profiles of its users, there is a key finding for its popularity.
The quick options it offers us fit perfectly into our lifestyle. A way that doesn’t leave us much room for traditional flirting, either because of a lack of time, or because we are now used to the screen being our main communication tool.
Maybe because it offers some kind of protection, like a safety glass against our human relationships.
The Greeks
In her case Greece flirting through the screen has just as much appeal, especially among young audiences. However, it is observed that although Tinder is widespread in our country, it cannot surpass it in popularity Instagram.
This application is the main means of exchanging messages for Greeks, according to the annual report of the Reuters Institute, with more than half of our population using it for all kinds of communication, as well as information.
Of course, its use in the last decade is not limited exclusively to the two aforementioned functions.
The Instagram it has now transformed into one of the most important tools for promoting ourselves (something like a digital showcase), which, in addition to the many purposes it serves, also helps to find and communicate with a potential romantic partner.
Kind of like the “give me your Instagram?” has now completely replaced “can i have your phone?”
A like it can carry such heavy meanings that it takes long, friendly conversations to analyze, while the time someone responds to our messages in a conversation is a clear indication of whether and how much they want us.
All of our interactions within the app suddenly turn into digital gestures that reflect exactly what we’re looking for romantically.
Digital love stories
Can we find love through the screen? There are already couples who will answer in the affirmative. Their acquaintance came through some dating app or Instagram and developed into something much more than likes and brief conversations.
Of course, this is the exception and not the rule, as no matter how easy it is to navigate our dating apps, they keep falling short of the most basic rule of flirting: human contact.
So apps may be a tool to help us get to know potential dating options and get the instant gratification of being liked, but at the end of the day, after all that endless searching, they just leave us exhausted.
For every cute message that makes us happy there are dozens of dead-end conversations that leave us questioning our selfie angles and emoji choices.
A 2022 Pew Research study found that over 40% of young adults feel emotionally charged by dating apps. Somehow it turns out that we’re slowly and steadily realizing that swiping endlessly while sitting in sweats on our couch doesn’t exactly lead to the kind of love stories we want to tell our grandkids.
Pineapples in action
In the tedium of this endless buffet of online romance and rejection, things seem to be changing again. Young moral perpetrators, who now seem to be doing something unexpected: flirting with each other in real life.
That’s right, face-to-face flirting is back, and who’s leading this amazing trend? The pineapples. Yes, you read that right, pineapples.
In response to online romance burnout, Gen Z is putting down their phones and choosing to get to know their potential match the old-fashioned way: looking them in the eye and having that awkward first conversation in person.
One of the most striking symbols of this shift in communication is the growing “pineapple trend” in Spain, where people are using the fruit as a means of signaling romantic interest in public spaces.
The trend started at the Mercadona supermarket chain, where customers began placing upside-down pineapples in their trolleys and then wandering down the wine aisle. Once one spots their potential match, they take turns and tip their cart into the other’s cart, beginning a lifelong interaction.
Of course, there are different options depending on what everyone is looking for in a romantic partner. A lettuce, for example, is enough to suggest that we want a one night stand and a packet of lentils the long-term, serious relationship.
This trend, which started organically in the aisle of a store, has now become huge, with the public flocking to department stores – which of course see their revenues soar. In some cases, in fact, the intervention of the police is needed to restore order.
Now, the “humble” pineapple that started as an almost humorous gesture is turning into a social phenomenon that is spreading in all the major cities of Spain and setting a precedent for the rest of Europe.
New rules
Whether it goes or stays, the pineapple trend is nothing more than a social reaction that reflects the need for data to change the way we communicate.
Although in the last 20 years Facebook, Instagram and dating applications have become integral parts of our daily lives, it is observed that now the attitude of the public towards them is radically different.
So in an age where Artificial Intelligence offers endless possibilities for communication to its user, from creating virtual companions to chatting online with chatbots that have the voice and appearance of anyone we want, people are going back to the basics. Young people are rediscovering the joys of personal contact that humanity has enjoyed for centuries. Meeting someone in person now seems less pressing and places like coffee shops, parks or party venues are once again turning into a reservoir of acquaintances.
Although dating apps are estimated to reach 452 million users by 2028, according to Statista, the desire for more authentic connections is undeniable. This is also evidenced by the fact that Tinder’s parent company Match Group has again revealed an 8% drop in its user numbers for 2024.
The art of flirting thus gradually returns to its roots and becomes a spontaneous and refreshingly real process again. Whether it’s because of our technological overload or our innate need for connection, so suppressed in the pandemic years, we humans seem to realize that some things are just better when done in person.
News today:
Valencia – Floods: “We were trapped like mice” – The three reasons that caused the tragedy in Spain
Adriano happy in the favelas – Videos showing the “Emperor” spending time with his friends
Kyriakos Mitsotakis – Antonis Samaras – Kostas Karamanlis: The “rendezvous” at the Karamanlis Foundation in the middle of an “ice cave”
